Hales rifle grenade
Encyclopedia
The Hales Rifle Grenade is the name for several rifle grenade
used by British forces during World War I
. All of these are based on the No 3 design.
started, there was a sudden need for rifle grenades. The British government purchased a rodded variant of the No 2 grenade
as a temporary solution.
By 1915, Hales had developed the No 3, which is commonly known as the Hales Rifle Grenade. However, production of the grenade was slow. Approximately 19,000 No 3s were being sent to troops. To make the grenade easier to make and more reliable, the grenade was improved throughout the war. The variations of the Hales are shown below.
After the end of the war, the Hales was declared obsolete and remaining Hales were replaced with Mills Bomb
s shot out of a rifle via a cup discharger.
or TNT as its explosive.
The No 3 had quite a few problems; first off, it was difficult to manufacture, as it requires precision and is made up of many parts. Another problem occurred with the detonators; like the No 1 Grenade
, the No 3 needed a special detonator that was difficult to manufacture. This detonator was also used in the No 2 grenade and was very similar to the one in the No 1 Grenade
, which made it even harder to mass-produce.
Operation-wise, the vane was a significant problem; it was hard to align properly and any sort of weather fluctuation, such as rain, strong winds or even a particle of dust could prevent the vane from operating correctly, which caused a failure.
The No 3 also had an overly-sensitive percussion cap
, which caused many premature detonations.
Once these problems became well-known, development teams set off to fix these solutions. The No 20 was the result of these refinements.
, which tended to corrode the brass parts of the grenade, which created quite a few failures when the grenade was fired.
While improved from the No 3, the No 20 was not perfect, and the No 24 was introduced to address some of the remaining problems.
The No 20 has two variants, the Mk I and II. The Mk I has a solid steel cylinder body very similar to the No 3, while the Mk II uses a weldless steel tube and has circumferential grooves for fragmentation.
Even then, there were still some improvements that could be made, and in 1918 the No 35 was introduced.
There are two variants of the No 24, the Mk I and II. The Mk I uses the No 20 Mk II's body, while the Mk II is uses a cast iron body that has no external grooves.
and a shorter striker.
Rifle grenade
A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade was thrown by hand...
used by British forces during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. All of these are based on the No 3 design.
Operation
To fire the No 3, the user must fit the grenade into the rifle, insert the detonator, lay the rifle on the ground in the correct position, remove the safety pin, pull back the safety pin collar, insert a special blank round into the rifle, then fire.Operation variants
With variants that lack the vale, the grenade is activated exactly the same way as the ones that have a vale, but the user does not need to remove the safety pin collar, as it lacks one.History
At the start of World War I, Britain entered the conflict without any rifle grenades, unlike the Germans. However, as soon as the trench warfareTrench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
started, there was a sudden need for rifle grenades. The British government purchased a rodded variant of the No 2 grenade
No 2 grenade
The No 2 grenade is a percussion cap fragmentation and rifle grenade used by the United Kingdom during World War I.-Operation:...
as a temporary solution.
By 1915, Hales had developed the No 3, which is commonly known as the Hales Rifle Grenade. However, production of the grenade was slow. Approximately 19,000 No 3s were being sent to troops. To make the grenade easier to make and more reliable, the grenade was improved throughout the war. The variations of the Hales are shown below.
After the end of the war, the Hales was declared obsolete and remaining Hales were replaced with Mills Bomb
Mills bomb
Mills bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades in the world.-Overview:...
s shot out of a rifle via a cup discharger.
Variants
The Hales went through many variations in order to make it more cost effective and effective.No 3
The No 3 started off as the No 3 Mk I. It has an externally-segmented body and a wind vane designed to help activate the detonator in mid flight. It uses either ToniteTonite (explosive)
Tonite is an explosive sometimes used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It consists of a mixture of equal weights of barium nitrate and guncotton.According to "Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise" by P...
or TNT as its explosive.
The No 3 had quite a few problems; first off, it was difficult to manufacture, as it requires precision and is made up of many parts. Another problem occurred with the detonators; like the No 1 Grenade
No 1 Grenade
The Grenade, Hand No 1 was the first British hand grenade used in World War I.-Overview:The Grenade No 1 was designed in the Royal Laboratory and is based on reports of Japanese hand grenades during the Russo-Japanese War by General Sir Aylmer Haldane, who was a British observer of the...
, the No 3 needed a special detonator that was difficult to manufacture. This detonator was also used in the No 2 grenade and was very similar to the one in the No 1 Grenade
No 1 Grenade
The Grenade, Hand No 1 was the first British hand grenade used in World War I.-Overview:The Grenade No 1 was designed in the Royal Laboratory and is based on reports of Japanese hand grenades during the Russo-Japanese War by General Sir Aylmer Haldane, who was a British observer of the...
, which made it even harder to mass-produce.
Operation-wise, the vane was a significant problem; it was hard to align properly and any sort of weather fluctuation, such as rain, strong winds or even a particle of dust could prevent the vane from operating correctly, which caused a failure.
The No 3 also had an overly-sensitive percussion cap
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
, which caused many premature detonations.
Once these problems became well-known, development teams set off to fix these solutions. The No 20 was the result of these refinements.
No 20
The No 20 is similar to the No 3, but its main feature is that it lacks the No 3's vane. In theory this was supposed to make it more reliable than the No 3 and it would've worked were it not for the explosive that was put in it. Instead of Tonite or TNT, the No 20 used AmmoniteAmmonite
Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct subclass within the Molluscan class Cephalopoda which are more closely related to living coleoids Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct...
, which tended to corrode the brass parts of the grenade, which created quite a few failures when the grenade was fired.
While improved from the No 3, the No 20 was not perfect, and the No 24 was introduced to address some of the remaining problems.
The No 20 has two variants, the Mk I and II. The Mk I has a solid steel cylinder body very similar to the No 3, while the Mk II uses a weldless steel tube and has circumferential grooves for fragmentation.
No 24
The No 24 is essentially a No 20 with a less sensitive percussion cap and refined ammonite that does not corrode the brass parts of the grenade.Even then, there were still some improvements that could be made, and in 1918 the No 35 was introduced.
There are two variants of the No 24, the Mk I and II. The Mk I uses the No 20 Mk II's body, while the Mk II is uses a cast iron body that has no external grooves.
No 35
The No 35 is a No 24 MK II that has a detonator holder that uses a small arm's cartridgeCartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
and a shorter striker.